Companies seeking planners' OK for gravel pits, new road Abutter intends to present petition against the project at Wednesday's hearing

By Shawn P. Sullivan

Sanford News Editor

fosters.com

By Shawn P. Sullivan

Sanford News Editor

Posted Jan. 31, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Shawn P. Sullivan

Sanford News Editor

Posted Jan. 31, 2013 at 3:15 AM

SANFORD — The Sanford Planning Board will hold a public hearing this Wednesday, Feb. 6, regarding applications for two mineral-extraction pits and a single “haul road” to be built on sites adjacent to Sandy Point Road, just off Route 4.

The hearing, a continuation of an earlier one held on Jan. 16, will take place in council chambers in the city hall annex at 919 Main Street at 7 p.m. Members of the public can attend and comment. Afterward, the planning board will discuss the applications and possibly will make a decision on them.

Genest Concrete, of Sanford, and Grondin Aggregates, LLC, of Gorham, own the properties, separately, and are the applicants. Shawn M. Frank, of Sebago Technics, of South Portland, is the engineer for the proposal.

The city’s site plan review committee met and discussed the proposal, years in the making, in the town hall annex on Jan. 16. That evening, the planning board held a public hearing for the proposal and continued it to this Wednesday.

The proposed site is a currently undeveloped area near the Great Works River, southwest of Picture Pond. Genest Concrete’s site is located on Tax Maps R14 and R15, Lots 2D, 4F, 12, 13, 15, 18A and 8. Grondin Aggregates’ site is located on Tax Map R14, Lot 8.

The city notified abutters within 250 feet of the roughly 27-acre site about the meeting on the 16th. Abutters include residents on Twombley Road, Westview Drive, Eastview Drive, Farview Drive, Great Works Drive, and others.

Donald Twombley, of 544 Twombley Road, spoke against the project during the Jan. 16 hearing. This week, he and a few other abutters are circulating a petition to halt the project because they believe the two gravel pits and the “haul road” would negatively impact areas of special significance — namely those that feature creatures and trees and plants that are regarded by the state as endangered, threatened or of special concern. The petition cites Hessel’s Hairstreak Butterfly, the Spotted Turtle, and the Ribbon Snake as examples.

Richard Dudzisz, a local attorney, helped draw up the petition’s language. On Tuesday, Dudzisz clarified that he has not been hired by the group for his legal services but was willing to help to draft the petition because he lives on Twombley Road, on land just one property away from the range of abutters.

“There can be no positive impact upon this area by constructing, operating and maintaining a gravel pit, and the project will further negatively impact the neighboring residents’ value, quality and enjoyment of their property, due to potential excessive noise, water and air pollution as a result of developing this site,” the petition says.

Twombley said he plans to present the petition at the hearing on Wednesday night.

Twombley has lived near the sites for more than 60 years and resides on property that his family has owned since 1900. He said he knows the area well, and wants to see it protected and to have the quality of life maintained for him and his family and fellow abutters.

“There’s going to be no peace and quiet in the summertime” if the project is approved, Twombley said on Tuesday. “I’m hoping there’s going to be a big turnout at that meeting (on Wednesday) of people who don’t want that land disturbed.”

During separate interviews with the Sanford News earlier this week, Planning Director James Gulnac and Christopher Genest, the general manager of Genest Concrete, confirmed that the “haul road” would be constructed in a winding fashion, so as to avoid the areas of environmental concern. In particular, Genest said the proposed road’s location and design were selected to “minimize and eliminate” any environmental impacts.

“We’ve studied this for, gosh, three years now,” Genest said on Tuesday.

The road would be paved, gated at the entrance and 1.4 miles long, and would be privately owned; the City of Sanford would not be responsible for its maintenance. According to Genest, trucks primarily will transport gravel and, when necessary, such assorted unprocessed materials as sand, gravel, rock, asphalt, concrete, topsoil and compost to and from the site.

Speaking for his company and Grondin Aggregates, Genest assured that there will be no blasting at the site. He also affirmed that mineral extraction and related activities would occur within hours of operation set by the city’s ordinances — namely, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, and between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday. The pits and road would be closed on Sundays and holidays.

Genest said that both companies have all of their state permits in place and that the planning board’s decision is the final step. If the applications are approved, Grondin Aggregates hopes to start constructing the road this winter because the frozen ground makes such work easier. Construction of the mineral-extraction pits would begin once the road is finished. Genest said the companies hope to have the sites up and running within this year.